SurendraMohan, J.

1. The travails of a discarded wife to secure the custody of her two male children from her husband who has forcibly taken them away and across the borders of our country to Jeddah in Saudi Arabia form the subject matter of this writ petition. The Family Court, Malappuram, has decided that the wife should have the custody of her children. Warrants of arrest have been issued by competent criminal courts against the first respondent. His passport has been impounded but, the efforts to deport him to our country have failed, at least for the moment, for the reason that he enjoys the patronage of an obliging employer at Saudi Arabia.

2. The petitioner, Jumaila is the mother of Mohammed Salman aged 12 years and Murad aged 4 = years. She has filed this writ petition seeking the issue of a writ of Habeas Corpus directing respondents 2 to 4 to produce her minor children from the illegal custody of the first respondent. The first respondent, Mr. Abdul Gafoor is the father of the children. The second respondent is his mother.

3. The marriage between the petitioner and the first respondent took place on 3-4-1996 according to Islamic rites. Thereafter, the spouses lived together. The two children referred to above were born out of the wedlock. According to the petitioner, respondents 1 and 2 along with Smt. Fousiya, sister of the first respondent used to harass the petitioner demanding gold and dowry. She was also blamed for not being pretty. The first respondent was working at Jeddah in Saudi Arabia. Therefore, during May 2007 the petitioner and the children were taken to Jeddah. It is the allegation of the petitioner that even at Jeddah the first respondent used to manhandle and harass the petitioner, at the instance of his mother and sister. According to her, after consuming alcohol the first respondent used to assault her brutally. When the torture became intolerable, at the intervention of the officials of the Indian Embassy at Jeddah, the petitioner and the children were sent back to India during October, 2007. After reaching India the petitioner complained to the Police and on the basis of her complaint, the Police registered crime No:345/2008 under Section 498A of the Indian Penal Code against respondents 1 and 2 and Smt. Fousiya mentioned above. The case against the first respondent/husband is still pending before the Judicial Magistrate's Court, Nilambur.

4. After the petitioner came back to India as stated above, the first respondent totally neglected her and her children. He did not pay them any maintenance. Therefore, the petitioner and the children were left at the mercy of her relatives. To cap it all, in the year 2008, the first respondent married another woman with whom he started living at Jeddah. The petitioner thereupon filed O.P.522/2008 before the Family Court, Malappuram claiming an amount of Rs.50,000/-that belonged to her, that was misappropriated by him. She also claimed past maintenance over a period of seven months for herself and her children. The said petition was allowed by Ext.P1 judgment directing that an amount of Rs.44,000/-be paid as past maintenance and decreeing the claim of the petitioner for recovery of the amount of Rs.50,000/-. The petitioner had also filed MC 448/2008 under section 125 of the Code of Criminal Procedure claiming maintenance from the first respondent. The said petition has also been allowed directing the first respondent to pay an amount of Rs.2,250/-to the petitioner. After coming back to India, the children were studying at the MES Lower Primary School, Mampad.

5. While so, on 4-7-2008, respondents 1 and 2 along with Fousiya forcibly took away the children from the MES Lower Primary School, Mampad without the permission of the petitioner and the first respondent took them to Jeddah without even informing the petitioner. The children are now in the custody of the first respondent and his second wife at Jeddah. The petitioner has not seen her children